The remarkably talented Kelleigh Bannen is chasing down the country music dream in her hometown of Nashville, TN. Bannen has already seen some success being named one of Rolling Stone’s Artists You Need to Know and one of CMT’s Next Women of Country. With a few singles under her belt, Kelleigh is currently working on her debut album and she’ll be the first to admit that pursuing a career in the music industry is no cakewalk. The singer continues to chronicle her journey on her blog, This Nashville Life, where she talks candidly about the music industry, fashion, beauty and more. The more you get to know Kelleigh, the more there is to love. Our admiration for Bannen goes much further than just the incredible music she’s putting out there, although that’s a good place to start.
After releasing an indie record in 2008, Kelleigh signed a major label record deal in 2011 with EMI Nashville and has since created two and a half albums that haven’t come out yet. “Yep, that actually happens,” she said on her blog. But the artist hasn’t lost any steam as she continues to write and work tirelessly on her debut album. For Kelleigh, being both a singer and songwriter is imperative. “I grew up here in Nashville, and to me, there’s no way for me to be an artist without being a writer too,” she said. She explained how, this year, she hasn’t been as heavy into touring which has given her the ability to keep more of a regular writing schedule. “So we are working on new stuff. We’re kind of being, I don’t want to say secretive, we’re not ever really secretive about stuff, but we’re being kind of quiet about stuff because I just felt like…” the singer paused. “It’s almost like that ‘watched pot won’t boil’ thing,” she said. “I just wanted some privacy to just go make music that I’m excited about without the pressure of, ‘We need a hit, you’re a female on your third single going to radio, hit hit hit,’ you know that kind of thing,” added Kelleigh in her defense. Without the extra stress, Bannen feels that she can create an album that has more authenticity. “Being genuine, being authentic – I think that’s what actually attracts a lot of people to country music,” she said. While she’s never one to chase anything, Bannen has a pretty good idea of what radio stations and record labels are looking for. “They don’t want music that you just only make in a little vacuum to please yourself,” said Bannen. “I think you can make music for only yourself, or you can make music that feels authentic to yourself but it’s for yourself and others. So I’m kind of just trying to strike a balance somewhere in there… It’s just going to be hard when everybody is watching.”
Although Bannen doesn’t let the whole world in on what she’s doing musically, her fans that follow her on the live video streaming app, Periscope, can get the inside scoop. Kelleigh often uses the app to stream studio sessions and share new music with her fans. For someone who wants to keep quiet about her new music, it seems contradictory that she would broadcast her studio time so freely, but Bannen explains why she likes the app so much. “It feels like a way to share what we’re doing in a very private way because it really just only exists for a minute, or 24 hours. I know the people that are tuning in are really in so I don’t feel like I’m giving anything away.” Kelleigh shared a story about a recent Periscope where she was working on the second verse of a song and reached out to fans to get their opinion. She shared a couple options she was playing around with and let her fans give feedback. Maybe only 100 or so people tuned in to that, so for Bannen, it’s a way to connect with fans and generate some buzz without spoiling the big moment.
Another thing the singer likes about Periscope is that it allows her fans to see the real Kelleigh. “Everything is crafted so you look like a star, right?” Bannen said, referencing album imaging and press photos. “It has to be that way to an extent, but I do think Periscope and those more intimate moments where you don’t look perfect and it’s not all styled, that is a really good side to be able to share with people too,” she explained. “I don’t think that diminishes a brand. I think one of the major hurdles that women have in country music is relatability, because you’re expected to be super glamorous and beautiful or whatever, and at the same time you want to be really relatable to your potential fans.” Bannen utilizes apps like Periscope and Snapchat to let people behind that veil.
Kelleigh’s blog is one more way fans can see who she really is. It’s a must-read for anyone thinking about pursuing a career in country music, but it’s also interesting and fun for the average music fan. The blog was an idea Kelleigh had about a year and a half ago, but due to a busy touring schedule, it took a while to get the ball rolling. “In order for it to work, I felt like I really needed to be doing the writing,” said Bannen. “This fall we sort of decided there was never going to be a good time so let’s just pull the trigger.” This Nashville Life is a place where Kelleigh can share her story. She talks openly about the music industry and her own personal struggles, and also has as some fun pieces about fashion and beauty – two things the singer is really into. Despite the subject matter of each individual post, honesty is a common theme overall. “I get why you have to make things look really marketable and really slick and beautiful all the time but I also think that being able to tell the truth about things is really powerful too… they don’t have to be mutually exclusive,” said Bannen.
In Kelleigh’s introduction on the blog, she warns that she’s going to tell the reader about the nitty-gritty music business stuff that she probably shouldn’t be sharing. It’s a pretty bold move for Bannen who is a self proclaimed rule-follower. “I don’t like to get in trouble so it’s actually been a really big deal for me to kind of like bend the rules a little bit,” the singer said, laughing. “So far I haven’t gotten in any real trouble and I’m trying to be respectful,” Bannen explained how she has no ill-intentions and the spirit behind all of her posts is positive. “I’m not trying to tell secrets about everything. There are things that would probably be very provocative to write about that do happen, I do still feel like there’s a line of professionalism.” The readers appreciate Bannen’s candor about the music industry, and some of her most popular posts are recaps of the tv show, Nashville. After each episode airs, Kelleigh explains what the show got right and what was a little unrealistic. She uses the blog to let the reader in behind the scenes of what her job really entails. It gives people a different perspective on the industry and is extremely helpful for those starting out in the business.
Aside from exploiting little truths about the music industry, Kelleigh loves to post covers of her favorite songs as part of her acoustic sessions. For a while she thought that “real artists don’t do covers,” but realized how silly that was and how fun covers could be. As someone who is determined to be heard, posting covers is a great way to achieve that right now. “I fell in love with country music on the radio and I really, really want to be on the radio. But right now as a woman in country music, radio is not a no-brainer. So we’re trying to figure out other ways to connect to fans and share music with them. We started doing covers because, right now, it doesn’t make sense to do acoustic versions of songs we are about to cut, or maybe about to release, because we want to time those with a real release,” Bannen explained. Most recently the singer, accompanied by Teddy Christenberry, has covered Justin Bieber’s ‘Sorry.’ Kelleigh’s version of the song slows it way down, giving it a much more somber feel. The covers give listeners a taste of Bannen’s own musical style. Kelleigh recognizes that music fans these days are listening to multiple genres, which is why she doesn’t restrict herself to country covers. “I do feel like more than ever there’s just so much possibility to sort of cross-pollinate among different styles of music which is really fun,” Bannen said. The singer has also covered ‘Ex to See’ and ‘Tennessee Whiskey’ by Sam Hunt and Chris Stapleton, respectively. “I’m constantly surprised with what people end up really liking,” said Kelleigh, noting that the acoustic sessions are some of her most popular posts.
Bannen seems to have her plate full between writing for the new album and writing for her blog and while touring has sort of taken a back seat, there is one event the singer is looking forward to. Kelleigh will be performing on April 1st as part of the ACM Party for a Cause festival. “We knew that we’ve been invited to the ACMs to play that show and we were really excited because it’s an amazing cause,” the singer said with exuberance. The cause, ACM Lifting Lives, funds everything from disaster relief and music education in schools, to supporting programs that use music therapy to help our veterans and wounded warriors. “I mean they’ve raised over $400,000!” Kelleigh mentioned that this number was just for military-specific organizations. Aside from the incredible cause, what makes this night even more special is that Kelleigh is playing in an all-female lineup. “I have shared the stage with a ton of dudes and I love them, I really do love these guys,” said Bannen. “But I don’t get to work with women a lot.” In 2015, Kelleigh was the only female artist on the roster for Luke Bryan’s Crash My Playa festival. Aside from the occasional girls and guitars-type night, most events want a really diverse lineup. But for this night, headliner Carrie Underwood specifically requested all girls on the bill. The lineup for Friday night includes some other outstanding female artists including Kelsea Ballerini, Cam, Maddie & Tae, and Jana Kramer. “I think it’s going to be awesome. I’m really excited and honored, honestly,” said Bannen.
Kelleigh has a lot to be excited about right now – her blog has been growing faster than she ever imagined and she’s continuing to write for her debut album on EMI Records. In a time where women in country music are facing some serious criticism and difficulties, Bannen seems to be more unstoppable than ever. There’s no denying this woman’s talent. The Nashville native captures audiences with her live performances and once you get to know her personality you’ll be head over heels. We know Kelleigh is going to absolutely kill it with her next record and we can’t wait to see her shine even brighter.
Check out her blog, This Nashville Live, and don’t forget to follow her on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook!